Dr. Shubendra S. Parihar, Assistant Professor at Jaipuria, Lucknow is often referred to as “Mr. Dependable”. A renowned name in industry and academics, he teaches Marketing at the institute and is extremely popular amongst students. The institute focuses on academic rigour for shaping management hopefuls, while ensuring that its faculty members follow interesting teaching pedagogy in the classroom. Dr. Parihar, who also doubles as Chairperson of Admissions, in many ways is the epitome of the teaching philosophies that the institute holds close to its heart.

Dr. Parihar is known for its forthright demeanour and refreshing candour, which is obvious when he admits that the demand for PGDM programs has gone down in recent times. “Like other institutes, Jaipuria Institute of Management has to take measures to make its program relevant to the industry and aspirants,” he says. “There is an initiative of multi-level vetting of the course curriculum of its electives offered. Firstly the curriculum is vetted across all the four campuses then by the industrialists and the practising managers and finally by the alumni.”

According to Dr. Parihar, the role of a PGDM program and the way it is perceived by the industry has changed drastically today. It is a skill development program where recruiters pay 20% attention to content knowledge, while 80% focus is on student skills and persona. That is the reason Dr. Parihar believes that major work needs to be done in this area of overall development of students. He stresses the importance of student engagement programs that gradually help build requisite skills, which is what the industry is looking for.

Dr. Parihar is a passionate academic, who is the first in his family to join the corporate world. But today he also wears many hats given his vast industry experience. He is an avid researcher, having published several notable papers, and is currently working on his book, “Mall and Event Management”. The book talks about how Indian malls are Xerox copies of malls in the US, which don’t make sense in our economic setup. That’s why they have become places to hang out with the family rather than shopping destinations.

This is an interesting and relevant idea for a book, and the solid research it contains has always been a strong point of Dr. Parihar’s work. Research also plays an important role in the academic life of students. Are there steps taken by him to promote research amongst future management aspirants? “Research is an important aspect of both learning and teaching,” he replies “It’s as important for faculty as it is for students. But as faculty you have to read a lot, immerse all your senses in studies and then manage them to get involved in research.”

And how important is industry experience to faculty members? Dr. Parihar offers a clear answer: “To teach business you need to know and experience it. My industry experience definitely gives me an edge in the classroom sessions. You can look at it as added flavour of chutni, achaar and papad to your meals.” The ever-smiling man then talks about his own experiences in the industry and how they have allowed him to help students with their queries and doubts in classrooms.

There are many who believe that the success of a B School depends on the quality of students it has for its programs. As Chairperson of Admissions, how does Dr. Parihar select the right students for his institute? “Besides their past academic skills, students should be judged on their written and oral skills,” he tells us. “Their analytical and decision making skills should be taken into consideration as well. All institutes want the top students for themselves, but things have changed with the demand for PGDM programs dropping. Hence, I focus on students who have high appetite for learning.”